Review of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) by Scott S — 04 May 2013

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) -- [8.0] -- It could just be my hillbilly roots, but I get a kick out of this corny but highly entertaining romp from the director of "Singin' in the Rain.

" A kind-hearted woman (Jane Powell) impulsively marries a mountain man (the booming Howard Keel) but gets more than she bargained for when he introduces his six brothers in the squalor of their remote farm house.

Powell is the heart of the movie. Making the best of it, she tries to civilize Keel's six lonely brothers to improve their chances of finding their own brides. The tunes are hummable and Michael Kidd's highly physical dance choreography is simply incredible.

The centerpiece of the film is a protracted barn-raising dance, where the brothers square off against competing suitors by dancing and jumping head over heels on elevated planks of wood. If this number doesn't impress the shit out of you, nothing in cinema ever will.

I also appreciate the slap-stick quality of the film, which comes out in full force when the six unwed brothers decide to kidnap their lady friends in the middle of night. The film won an Oscar for its score, and was nominated for best picture, color cinematography, editing, and screenplay.

Genre fans will notice Russ Tamblyn (Twin Peaks) as the youngest brother, and Julie Newmar (TV's Catwoman) as the bride with most impossibly narrow waistline.